Acetylene-gas generator.



No. 704,226. Patented July 8, I902. A. WINCH.

ACETYLENE GAS GENERATOR. Application filed Jul 15, 1901.) (No Model.) 2Sheets-Sheet l.

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No. 704,226. Patented July 8, I902.

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ACETYLENE GAS GENERATOR.

s'Applicntion filed July 15, 1901.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(N0 Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALLEN WVINCH, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

ACETYLENE-GAS GENERATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters I tent No. 704,226, dated July 8,1902.

Application filed July 15, 1901- fierial No. 68,284.

(No model.)

To (tZZ whom it nuiay concern;

Be it known that I, ALLEN WINCH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Acetylene-Gas Lamps,ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in gas-burning lamps of thatclass in which the gas consumed is produced within the lamp by thereaction of water upon calcic carbid.

The object of the invention is to produce an accurately self-regulatinglamp of this character which shall be absolutely safe under allcircumstances and the design of which shallbe so simple that the lampcan be readily understood and handled by the most inexperienced personsand can be produced at a cost so low as to place it in activecompetition with oil and vapor lamps.

The invention consists in the matters herein set forth, and particularlypointed outin the appended claims, and will be fully understood from thefollowing detailed description of the construction illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which' Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of anacetylene-gas lamp embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a transversesection thereof, taken on line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a perspectivedetail of the needle-valve which controls the admission of water to thecarbid-chamber. Fig. i is a sectional detail of the terminal cap of thetube which leads from the needle-valve into the carbid-chamber. Fig. 5is a perspective view of the main inner casing of the lamp. Fig. 6 is asimilar view of the generating-chamber. Fig. 7 is a similar view of thecarbid-receptacle which fits within the generating-chamber.

In said drawings, A designates the outer casing or font of the lamp; B,an inner casing removably inserted in the font A; G, a removablegenerating-chamber removably inserted in the inner casing, and D aoarbid-receptacle removably inserted in the generat ing-chamber C.

The font A acts simply as a tank to contain a body of water large enoughin quantity to keep the lamp cool and to also supply the necessary waterof generation. This font, as well as the other parts mentioned, isdesirably formed of sheet metal and may be made of any suitable orornamental shape. A fixed pointer or equivalent device a in the fontdesignates the level to which it should be filled with water in startingthe lamp, and when the inner casing of the lamp is inserted in the fontthe water will rise to the level of line 1 1.

Theinner casingBis small enough to readily set down into the font A andis provided at its top with a downwardly-projecting flange b, which fitsover the mouth of the font, lateral movement of the casing within thefont being further prevented by springs 3 on the casing, whichyieldingly engage the wall of the font. A little above the water-line 11 this casing is provided with a transverse partition b, from the centerof which a tube b leads upwardly to any suitable burner E on thetop ofthe casing. That portion of the casing below the partition I) thenconstitutes a downwardly-openingbell for containing thegenerating-chamber C, while above the partition the casing is made ofskeleton form or provided with openings 2, through which the water inthe font is free to circulate when forced up above the partition by thepressure of the generated gas. The entire interior of the font above thepartition 1) serves thus in eifectas additionalreservoir-space to takecare of such rises in water-level in practically the same way as thoughthe casing was not present therein or rather as though the lower bellportion of the casing was connected with its top only by the outlet-tube19 The generating-chamber G is made in the form of an open cylindriocup, which sets up into the lower portion of the casing B and isnormally retained therein, so as to be held against rotation relativelythereto by any suitable means, such as spring catches c, which passbetween guides c on the inner face of the casing B and snap over lugs cat the lower end of said guides. Then the parts are interlocked, thesesprings 0 project slightly below the edges of the casing O, as shown inFig. 1, and can be caught and pressed in by the fingers to release thegenerating-chamber from the casing. Fins c on the generating-chamber arealso provided to center it within the casing B and prevent its movingtoo loosely therein. The bottom of the generating-chamber is formed by atransverse partition 0, located some little distance above the loweredges of its cylindric side walls, and a water inlet tube C projectsupwardly through the center of this bottom to a point about or abovemidway of the depth of the generating-chamber. At the lower end of thistube is locateda needle-valve V, con sisting of a valve-seat 2;, whichis secured to the under side of the bottom wall 0 and within which ascrew plunger or needle o is fitted in a familiar manner. This needlewhen screwed home closes the aperture 7/ leading into the tube 0 butwhen unscrewed communication is established between this hole 0 andlateral holes or perforations 11 which open out through the sides of thevalveseat. The valve V is designed to be opened and closed by turningthe casing B within the font, the lower end of the valve-needle U beingarranged to set down into a socket a in the font, so as to be heldthereby against rotation when the casingis turned. As herein shown, thesocket a consists of a slot cut in an upwardly-projecting boss a that issecured to the bottom of the font, and the valve-needle is provided witha transverse pin 1%, which enters the slot a and holds the needlestationary, so that as the casing is turned in the font the valve willbe screwed toward or from its seat, and thus close or open communicationwith the tube C In preparing the lamp for use the charge 0 C of carbidis placed in the lower portion of the generating-chamber and the latterthrust into the casing B and locked there by the spring-catches c. Thecasing B, with its inclosed generating-chamber, is then set down intothe water in the font A, and when it is desired to use the lamp thecasing is turned sufficiently to slightly unscrew the valve-needle v.This permits the water in the font beneath the generatingchamber to risethrough the tube (J and flow over upon the carbid, thus causing anevolution of acetylene gas, which will pass off through the outlettube bto the burner E, where it may be ignited. Instead of placing the chargeof carbid 0 0 directly in the generating-chamber, however, the latterwill desirably first be supplied with a removable carbid-cup D, having adetachable bottom D, provided with an aperture dfor the passage upthrough it of the tube 0 The lower end of this receptacle D ispreferably made to converge downwardly slightly, so to remove anexhausted charge of carbid which may have settled into a hard cake inthe bottom of the receptacle D. It is only necessary to take ofi thedetachable bottom Dand strike the hardened cake of ash within, when itwillloosen and fall freely through the larger end or mouth of thereceptacle. The detachable connection between the bottom D and thecylindric tube of the receptacle is herein shown as formed by wires d,which are soldered to the receptacle and have their lower ends bentparallel V with the lower rim of the receptacle and pointed in the samedirection with respect thereto. The bottom D itself is then providedwith slots d through which the bent ends of the wires d willsimultaneously pass as the bottom is placed against the open lower endof the receptacle. A slight twisting movement of the bottom D will thenobviously move the wires in the slots, so that the ends of the wireswill hook beneath the bottom and hold it in position.

As thus described the lamp will be in some degree self-regulatin g,owing to the back pressure of the gas upon the column of water withinthe tube C this back pressure serving to force down the water in thetube and prevent its flowing over into the generatingchamber except asthe gas consumed serves to release the pressure sufliciently to permitthe water to flow again from time to time. I have, however, found inpractice that such regulation is but imperfect unless the end of thetube 0 is covered by a cap F, the construction of which is shown in Fig.4 and which constitutes an important feature of my present improvements.This cap is made of tubing just large enough to fit closely over theupper end of the tube 0 and is itself closed at its upper end except forone or more lateral openings f near its closed top. WVithin the cap is adownwardly-converging funnelshaped tube F,the upper end of which reachesjust about to the level of the lower openings f, where it is soldered orotherwise secured in place. This funnel F enters the mouth of the tubewhen the cap F is telescoped over the latter, and communication betweenthe generating-chamber and the tube 0 can then take place only throughthe openingsfand through the funnel F, the lower end f of which iscontracted to a very narrow diame* ter, and the passage of the waterthrough this funnel and through the openingsfthen seems to take place sogradually and under such conditions that the flow is perfectlycontrolled as it should be by the operating back pressure of the gas. Inthis connection also I have found that the aperture 42 through theneedle-valve should also be made very small and that the closed top ofthe cap F should be located onlya short distance above the upper end ofthe funnel in order to produce the best results.

The manner of using a lamp thus constructed will be readily understood.The carbidchamber D, with its detachable bottom secured in place on itslower end, will be inserted in the generating-chamber O and filled withcarbid to a depth sufiiciently less than the height of the tube 0 topermit the expansion of the charge when moistened from clogging theoutlet-apertures fin the tube. The generating-chamber will then bethrust into the casing B and interlocked therewith by means of thespring-catches c. The font A having been filled with water to the heightof the indicator a, the casing B, with its inclosed charge of carbid,will be set down into said font until the needle-valve stem enters l thesocket a. This will raise the water in the font to the level of the line1 1 and at the same time will force the water up between the innercasing and the generating-chamber and effectually seal the latter. Thelamp is now ready for action and may be turned on at any time byrotating the casing B within the font, so as to open the needle-valveand permit the water to rise through the tube 0 and funnel F and flowover upon the carbid through the apertures f in the cap F, whereupon thegas will immediately begin to be generated and will pass off through thetube b to the burners E, where it may be ignited. As soon as the processof generation has produced a gas-pressure within the generatingchambergreater than the head of water afforded by the supply in the font A thecolumn of water within the tube 0 will be forced down below the openingsf and the water-supply cut off, thus restricting generation until by thesubsequent consumption of gas the pressurein the generating-chamberdecreases to a point where the water will begin to flow again. Thegeneration thus afforded and as modified by the funneled cap F and valveV, having the restricted opening v 1 have found to be exceedingly closeand effective, and I consider the construction in this respect to be anessential feature of the present improvements. Then the carbid isexhausted, the lamp will be recharged by lifting the casing. B from thefont, withdrawing the generatingchamber from the casing, lifting out thecarbid-receptacle from the generating-chamber, removing the detachablebottom of the carbid-receptacle, and knocking out the residuum whichremains in the latter, this residuum being readily gotten rid of byreason of such detachable bottom and of the downwardlyconverging shapeof the receptacle at its lower end, the construction in these respectsbeing also a desirable part of the present improvements.

It will of course be obvious that instead of consuming the gas generatedin burners, such as E, which are directly attached to the lamp, may bepiped off to any suitable place of consumption or storage desired, inwhich case the apparatus will constitute merely a gasgenerator insteadof a generator and lamp, and it will therefore be understood that whilethe construction described is especially designed with reference to itsportability and convenience as a lamp, and is consequently referred toas such throughout these specifications and claims, the latter areintended to cover the essential elements described, no matter where orin which way the generated gas may be consumed. It will also beunderstood that various changes may be made in the details of theconstruction shown without departing from the vention claimed.

broad spirit of the in- I claim as my invention- 1. A gas-lampcomprising a font, a generating-chamber in said font, an inlet-tubeextending up from the bottom of the generatingchamber, a valve at thelower end of said tube, a laterally-perforated closed cap on the upperend of said tube, and a downwardlyconverging funnel extending from theperforations in said cap down into the tube and terminating in arestricted opening, substantially as described.

2. A gas-lamp comprising a font, a generating-chamber in said font, aninlet-tube extending up into the generating-chamber, and adownwardly-converging funnel extending down into the tube andterminating in a restricted opening through which the water in the tubepasses to enter the generating-chamber, substantially as described.

3. A gas-lamp comprisinga font, a generating-chamber in said font, aninlet-tube extending up into the generating-chamber, alaterally-perforated cap on vthe upper end of said tube, and adownwardly-converging funnel extending from the perforations in said capdown into the tube and terminating in a restricted opening,substantiallyas described.

4. A gas-lamp comprising a font, a generating-chamber in said font, aninlet-tube extending up into the generating-chamber, a downwardlyconverging funnel extending down into the tube and terminating in arestricted opening, an inlet-valve at the lower end of the tube providedwith a restricted opening, substantially as described.

5. A gas-lamp comprisingafont, a generating-chamber in said font, aninlet-tube extending up into the generating-chamber, alaterally-perforated cap on the upper end of said tube, adownwardly-converging.funnel extending from the perforations in said capdown into the tube and terminating in a restricted opening, and aninlet-valve at the lower end of the tube provided with a restrictedopening, substantially as described.

6. A gas-lamp comprising a font, a generating-chamber in said font, aninlet-tube extending up into the generating-chamber, alaterally-perforated cap on the upper end of said tube, the upper end ofsaid cap being closed and terminating not far above its lateralperforations, and a downwardly-converging'funnel extending from theperforations in said cap down into the tube and terminating in arestricted opening, substantially as described.

7 A gas-lamp comprising a font, a generating-chamber in said font, aninlet-tube extending into the generating-chamber, and a removablecarbid-receptacle in said generating-chamber consisting of a cylindriccup provided with a detachable bottom perforated to set over theinlet-tube, substantially as described.

8. A gas-lamp comprising a font, a generating-chamber in said font, aninlet-tube exitending into the generating-chamber, and a IIO &

removable carbid-receptacle in said generating-chamber consisting of acylindric cup provided with a loose bottom perforated to set over theinlet-tube, slots in said bottom, and bent wires secured to thereceptacle and entering said slots to hold the bottom in place,substantially as described.

9. A gas-lamp comprising a font, a generating-chamber in said font, aninlet-tube extending up into the generating-chamber, and

a closed cap on the upper end of said tube,

provided with perforations at difierent levels, substantially asdescribed.

10. A gas-lamp comprising a font, agenerating-chamber in said font, aninlet-tube extending up into the generating-chamber, a closed cap on theupper end of said, tube provided with perforations at different levels,and a downwardly-converging funnel extend- ALLEN WINCH.

Witnesses:

HENRY W. CARTER, K. A. COSTELLO.

